Russian state media: Russian propagandist killed on front line

Russian state media RIA Novosti reported on July 22 that four Russian journalists were injured by cluster munitions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and that one of them, Rostislav Zhuravlev, died from his injuries during their evacuation.

The propagandists were from RIA Novosti and the Russian newspaper Izvestiya.

According to RIA Novosti, one of the injured journalists has been transferred to a Russian military medical facility in occupied Melitopol and he will be sent to occupied Crimea if his condition remains stable.

The Russian Defense Ministry has blamed Ukraine and the U.S. for the incident, RIA Novosti added.

Ukraine hasn't reacted to the accusations.

The U.S. announced that it would supply Ukraine with cluster munitions in early July.

Citing Ukrainian officials, the Washington Post reported on July 20 that Ukrainian forces had already begun deploying U.S.-supplied cluster munitions against the Russian military in the southeast.

The Ukrainian military has said that the cluster munitions will not be used in cities, densely-populated areas, or on Russian territory.

More than 120 countries have signed the 2010 convention that prohibits the use of cluster munitions due to their deadly impact. Neither Ukraine, the U.S., nor Russia are among the signatories.

After the U.S. announced that it would supply Ukraine with cluster munitions, Russia threatened to begin deploying cluster munitions from its own stockpiles in "retaliation."

However, Ukrainian officials and human rights groups have said that Russia is already indiscriminately using cluster munitions against civilian targets.